MLB Player News

Sandoval (biceps) went three innings, allowing one earned run on one hit and one walk while striking out four Wednesday for Double-A Portland, reports Christopher Smith of MassLive.com.

Sandoval -- who has yet to make his debut for Boston after signing a two-year, $18.25 million contract prior to last season -- built up to three innings during his third rehab outing Wednesday, and he'll likely require a couple more appearances before coming off the shelf. The 29-year-old, whose rehab appearances this season have been his first game action since 2024, was initially working his way back from internal brace surgery on his elbow before left biceps discomfort surfaced during the spring to delay his return.

The Athletics reinstated Civale (shoulder) from the injured list ahead of his start Wednesday against the Pirates.

Civale was brilliant during his rehab outing at Triple-A Las Vegas on Thursday, striking out seven batters without allowing a man to reach base in 4.1 innings. He now has the green light to rejoin the Athletics' rotation, though he will be making his return against a Pirates offense that's posted a .764 OPS since the beginning of June. The 31-year-old righty is also likely to have his workload limited Wednesday after tossing just 56 pitches during his appearance in the minors. Luis Morales was optioned to Triple-A in a corresponding move.

The Athletics optioned Morales to Triple-A Las Vegas on Wednesday.

Morales will head back to Triple-A after just being recalled to the big-league club Monday. The 23-year-old made no appearances in his brief two-day stint in the majors. The Athletics activated Aaron Civale (shoulder) from the injured list to start Wednesday against the Pirates.

Lambert (6-4) earned the win against the Tigers on Wednesday, allowing one run on two hits and no walks with five strikeouts over seven innings.

Lambert cruised through six frames before allowing a solo homer in the seventh, throwing 60 of 89 pitches for strikes while limiting the Tigers to just four hard-hit balls. The 29-year-old has now recorded back-to-back quality starts and has yielded only four earned runs across three outings in June. He'll take a 3.23 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 58:25 K:BB over 64 innings this season into a road matchup against the Blue Jays next week.

Mize (2-4) took the loss against the Astros on Wednesday, allowing three runs on six hits and one walk with three strikeouts over 4.2 innings.

In his first start since May 27, Mize threw 52 of 86 pitches for strikes while generating eight whiffs and allowing nine hard-hit balls. While some rust was understandable in his return from an adductor injury, the 29-year-old handled a normal workload and saw a slight uptick in velocity across his pitch mix compared to his season averages. He owns a 2.58 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and 52:13 K:BB over 52.1 innings this season and lines up for a home matchup against the Yankees next week.

The Blue Jays placed Scherzer on the 15-day injured list Wednesday due to back spasms.

Scherzer had been slated to start Wednesday in Boston, but the Blue Jays instead opted to put him on the shelf after he experienced the back issue when he woke up Monday and didn't respond to treatment as quickly as the team had hoped, per Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca. Toronto recalled Chad Dallas from Triple-A Buffalo in a corresponding move, and he could be tasked with covering multiple innings out of the bullpen Wednesday once opening pitcher Braydon Fisher exits the contest. Scherzer's move to the IL comes just one week after the Blue Jays activated him following an absence of nearly seven weeks due to right forearm tendinitis and left ankle inflammation. The transaction is retroactive to Sunday, so Scherzer will be eligible for activation as soon as June 29.

Astros manager Joe Espada said Wednesday that Javier (shoulder) will make a fourth minor-league rehab start before returning from the 60-day injured list, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Javier made his third rehab start and second straight start with Triple-A Sugar Land on Tuesday, striking out six batters over 3.1 innings while yielding three earned runs on four hits and one walk. He built up to 63 pitches (37 strikes) in the outing, so the Astros will likely want to see Javier push up his count into the 75-to-85 range in his next start, which will likely come either Sunday or Tuesday. If all goes smoothly, Javier could slot back into the Houston rotation as soon as next weekend's series in Detroit. The right-hander has been on the shelf since April 10 due to a Grade 2 shoulder strain.

The Tigers reinstated Mize (adductor) from the 15-day injured list ahead of his scheduled start Wednesday against the Astros in Houston.

Mize had been slated to return from the IL this past Sunday, but after their series finale in Cleveland was postponed, the Tigers opted to delay his activation a few more days. The right-hander will be taking the hill Wednesday for his first outing with the big club since May 27 and could be operating with a slight workload restriction after covering five innings and tossing 55 pitches in his lone minor-league rehab start last Tuesday. Prior to hitting the shelf due to right adductor inflammation, Mize went 2-3 and posted a 2.27 ERA and 0.97 WHIP over 47.2 innings in his nine starts with Detroit.

The Astros will skip Burrows' next turn in the rotation, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Burrows has been tagged for 16 runs (13 earned) while serving up five home runs over 15 innings covering his last three starts. He's posted a 5.86 ERA and 1.58 WHIP in 14 outings this season. Burrows will be available out of the bullpen this weekend, and the righty indicated he plans to piggyback behind Tatsuya Imai on Friday night against the Guardians. While Burrows could rejoin the rotation next week, his role is tenuous due to Cristian Javier (shoulder) being due back soon.

Melton (back) is listed as the Tigers' probable starting pitcher for Saturday's game against the White Sox in Detroit, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

Detroit scratched Melton ahead of his previously scheduled start Monday in Houston after he experienced general back tightness leading up to the contest, but he's apparently recovered well from the injury over the past couple of days. The Tigers will have the luxury of managing Melton's workload Saturday if they want to go that route, as Keider Montero's recent move out of the rotation provides the team with another option in the bullpen who's capable of covering multiple innings. Melton has fared well thus far in his four starts for Detroit since returning from a season-opening stint on the injured list, turning in a 2.81 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and 14:6 K:BB across 25.2 innings.